The Relationship between Eating Disorder and Self-esteem in Female College Students

Lee, Kyung Hye; Kim, Sook Kyung; Chun, Ki Jeong; Han, Sook Hee

Abstract

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between eating disorders, and self esteem in female college students. METHOD: The survey was carried out on convenience sample of 388 college female students. The questionnaire consisted of each scale for eating disorder, self-esteem. The data was analyzed by the SPSS/PC using frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, ANOVA, and Spearman correlation coefficient. RESULT: More than 43% of the subjects perceived their weight as overweight, while 1.5% of the women were obese as defined by BMI. About 57.4% of subjects were not satisfied with their body shape. Frequency of eating disorder was 5.93%. The score of eating disorder was high when the subjects had negative perception and low satisfaction with their body shape. The high scores of self-esteem were shown among the group who had high satisfaction on body shape. There was negative correlation between eating disorder and self-esteem(r=-.194, p=.000).
CONCLUSION
This study suggests that the nursing intervention was necessary for female college students to recognize healthier eating habits and increased their self-esteem.